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https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-sinking-maine#:~:text=President%20William%20McKinley%20sends%20the,protect%20U.S.%20interests%20in%20Cuba.&text=The%20Maine%20explodes%20in%20Havana%20Harbor%2C%20killing%20266%20men.&text=An%20inquiry%20conducted%20by%20the,a%20mine%20under%20the%20ship.

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On February 15, 1898, an explosion of unknown origin sank the battleship in the Havana, Cuba harbor, killing 266 of the 354 crew members. The sinking of the incited United States' passions against Spain, eventually leading to a naval blockade of Cuba and a declaration of war.

U.S.S. Maine. c1897. Detroit Publishing Company. Prints & Photographs Division

Ostensibly on a friendly visit, the Maine had been sent to Cuba to protect the interests of Americans there after riots broke out in Havana in January. An official U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry reported on March 28 that the ship, one of the first American battleships and built at a cost of more than two million dollars, had been blown up by a mine without laying blame on any person or nation in particular, but public opinion in the United States blamed the Spanish military occupying Cuba anyway. Subsequent diplomatic communications failed to resolve the matter, leading to the start of the Spanish-American War by the end of April.

Restos del U.S.S. Maine, Habana. William Henry Jackson, photographer, c1900.Detroit Publishing Company. Prints & Photographs Division

The Spanish-American War is notable as the first U.S. war documented by the motion picture camera. The Edison Manufacturing Company, for example, sent cameraman William Paley to Key West, Florida, where he filmed Burial of the "Maine" Victims on March 27, 1898. In late March he also filmed theWreck of the Battleship "Maine" in the Havana harbor, and in late April and early May of that year he filmed, in Florida, military preparations for the war. A special "War Extra," issued on May 20, 1898, as a supplement to the Edison Manufacturing Company catalog, promised that these motion pictures "would be sure to satisfy the craving of the general public for absolutely true and accurate details regarding the movements of the United States Army getting ready for the invasion of Cuba."

Burial of the "Maine" Victims. William Paley and Karl Decker, camera & production; United States: Edison Manufacturing Co., c1898. The Spanish-American War in Motion Pictures. Motion Picture, Broadcasting, & Recorded Sound Division.

Learn More

The Spanish-American War in Motion Pictures collection features 68 motion pictures, produced between 1898 and 1901, of the Spanish-American War and the subsequent Philippine Revolution. For an overview of the films in this collection, with essays offering an historical context, view the special presentation The Motion Picture Camera Goes to War.

Spanish-American War: A Resource Guide links to a wide variety of digital materials relating to the Spanish-American War available on the Library's Web site as well as to external sites. The guide also includes a selected bibliography.

The World of 1898: The Spanish-American War is a presentation of the Library of Congress Hispanic Division. The site contains chronologies, bibliographies, and a variety of pictorial and textual material from bilingual sources, supplemented by an overview essay about the war and the period.

To find additional images of the ill-fated battleship and its crew, search on Maine Battleship in the Library's digital collections containing prints and photographs.

Search Chronicling America to find historic American newspaper pages about the Spanish-American War. In addition, the Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room has created newspaper topics guides on the major events of the Spanish American War and the sinking of the .

See the Today in History features on the arrival of the first U.S. Marines at Guantánamo Bay on June 10, 1898, the Battle of San Juan Hill on July 1, and the October 18 raising of the U.S. flag in Puerto Rico.

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On February 15, 1898, an explosion of unknown origin sank the battleship in the Havana, Cuba harbor, killing 266 of the 354 crew members. The sinking of the incited United States' passions against Spain, eventually leading to a naval blockade of Cuba and a declaration of war.

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Yellow journalism is a style of journalism that relies on hype and excitement and often uses wrong practices to attract readers and increase newspaper sales. It spread in the late nineteenth century in the United States.

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The explosion of the battleship U.S.S. Maine on February 15, 1898, in Havana is thought to have been caused by a mine under the ship killed 266 of the 356 crew members. With the shooting down of the U.S.S. Maine the United States seized the opportunity to lead a naval blockade of Cuba and declaration of war.

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The United States was interested in Cuba for various reasons, one of the main reasons being that the island of Cuba is located in a strategic position that allowed it to have military and commercial control in the area in which it was located. As a result, many American citizens began investing money in Cuba, especially in the sugar industry.

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The Letter de Lome was a diplomatic correspondence that contributed to increasing tensions between the United States and Spain in the late 19th century. In the letter, Enrique Dupuy de Lome, the Spanish ambassador to the United States, criticized US President William McKinley in insulting terms. The message was intercepted, leaked to the press, and sparked outrage in the United States. It played a role in bringing the United States closer to the Spanish-American War in 1898.